Clapboard-holder



'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES J. LUCE AND EUGENE K. BECKVITH, OF NIANTIC, CONNECTICUT.

CLAPBOARD-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,329, dated July 17, 1888,

Application filed April 10, 1888. Serial No. 270,241.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES J. LUOE and EUGENE K. Bnorrwrrn, both ofNiantic, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Im provement in Clapboard-Holders, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,for1ning part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective View of a portion of a building, showing our improved holder in use; Fig. 2, a top plan View of the wall of the building, shown in horizontal section taken on line x w in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an enlarged side elevation of one of the holders detached, the clapboards being represented as in position to be marked and broken off; Fig. 4, an enlarged perspective view of the same, and Fig. 5 an enlarged perspective view of the holder.

Like letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

Our invention relates to a device designed to be employed by builders in marking off clapboards to enable them to be cut or sawed to proper lengths preparatory to being laid; and it consists in certain novel features, as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a simpler, cheaper, and more effective article of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the holder, B the clapboard, and C the building.

The holder consists of a metallic strip, preferably about six feet long by two inches in width. One edge of the strip is cut diagonally inward at regular intervals, the portions thus partially separated from the body of the strip (N0 model.)

being bent outward at right angles thereto and forming teeth m, adapted to secure and hold the clapboard. A series of triangular pieces are partially cut or punched from the central portion of the body of the strip, said pieces being bent laterally at right angles thereto in a direction opposite to the teeth m, and forming spurs v, by means of which the holder may be secured to the casing or board ing of the building.

In the use of our improvement the holder is secured to the casing in a vertical position by means of its spurs 1;, so that the teeth m will project horizontally outward, as shown in Fig. 1. The face of the holder is then horizontally lined or marked at regular intervals with chalk, as shown at z in Fig. 3, the distance it is designed to overlap the elapboards or lay them to the weather being indicated by the difference in the width of the boards and the width of the spaces between said lines, or, in this instance, between f and 2. (See Fig. 3.) The boards B are then forcibly pressed against the teeth on, their lower edges being respectively arranged flush with the lines 2, said teeth holding them firmly in position and enabling them to be readily marked off for sawing into such lengths as may be required to breakjoints properly.

It will be understood that the elapboards are removed from the teeth m to be sawed, the holders being then detached from the boards or casing and attached at another point preparatory to repeating the operation.

Having thus explained our invention, what we claim is A clapboard-holder consisting of a flat me tallic strip provided with struck-up teeth on one side for attaching the holder to a building and with struck-up teeth at regular intervals on the opposite side for supporting the clap boards, substantially as described.

CHAS. J. LUCE. EUGENE K. BECIUVITH.

\Vitnesses:

LORAINE C. CoMs'rooK, Mosns W. GoMs'rooK. 

